Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC

Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,020 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 457,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $261,680,000 after acquiring an additional 112,047 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 17.9% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $946,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 72.2% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,228 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares in the last quarter. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the third quarter. ERTS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $998,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Fusion Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.8% in the third quarter. Fusion Family Wealth LLC now owns 749 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Pivotal Research boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $583.00 to $627.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $717.90.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $736.67 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $638.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $584.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $414.50 and a 52-week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The social networking company reported $8.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.75 by $1.27. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 413 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.77, for a total value of $232,424.01. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,018,473.83. The trade was a 2.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 19,668 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $721.69, for a total transaction of $14,194,198.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 751,033 shares of company stock valued at $480,911,671. 13.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.